Love wins again: Adam and Huong

The best Christmas gift ever!

Adam is a New South Wales born, online documentation and social media manager. Huong used to work as a beautician and sales woman in Vietnam before moving to Australia.

Whether it is watching a movie, going to the shops, visiting Adam’s family or playfully fighting about what type of food to cook, Australian or Vietnamese; every moment Adam is not at work, he spends it by his partner’s side.

Looking at the Brisbane couple now, it is difficult to imagine that a few months ago things could have turned out very differently for them.

In December last year, whilst in Vietnam for a friend’s wedding, Adam met the love of his life, Huong.

“We were in a dance club celebrating the wedding. I was being a bit loud, so I think that’s how she spotted me,” Adam said.

“She just came up to me and we started talking. I knew as soon as I met her. I loved her.”

“The next day we hung out the whole day. When I had to leave, she came to the airport to say goodbye. I didn’t really want to say goodbye,” he said.

Adam says that he was lucky that a few weeks later, a business trip would take him to Singapore where they would meet again.

“Every day since December 7^th, the day I met her, we kept in touch,” he said.

“When we met up in Singapore, we worked out pretty quickly that we wanted to be together.”

“I hated leaving her and it was worse because I had to fly out on Christmas Eve,” Adam said.

Talking regularly, the couple braved a long distance relationship and grew closer with every passing day. Adam says that his happiest memory was visiting Huong and her family in February this year.

“I flew out to Vietnam to celebrate their New Year and stayed with them for two weeks.” Adam said.

“I was so nervous to meet her family but I was extremely proud to be a part of her life and meet everyone she loved too.”

“When she came out to Australia in July, we decided we would do whatever it took to lodge a partner visa,” he said.

Adam and Huong spent New Years in Vietnam with her family.

Being pointed in the right direction by the friend whose wedding started it all, Adam said that he sought the help of Emma and Freedom Migration with his partner visa.

“I am very fortunate to have had Emma work on our partner visa. She has helped me every step of the way and really all I had to do was get whatever was on the checklists she gave me,” he said.

“The most difficult part was that Vietnam didn’t have the same documentation system and some evidence was hard to get. We kept going because we knew that if we were successful, Huong wouldn’t have to leave and we wouldn’t have to say goodbye.”

“We were able to lodge our application in October and amazingly, Huong was allowed to remain in Australia throughout the process. It was such a big relief and I couldn’t recommend Emma enough,” Adam said.

As getting a visa was the only thing stopping Adam and Huong from being together, Adam says that getting the application right was important.

“My biggest fear going into the visa process was that we would be rejected. You never quite know just how much paper work is involved until you start the process,” he said.

“We didn’t want to get it wrong because you could be pushed back and each time would make it harder and harder to get the visa. It would be a lot more expensive to go through everything again too.”

“I think for any couple who is in a similar situation, the best thing to do is to document everything, get a migration agent you trust and remember to be honest with your partner about the whole process. Go through it together,” Adam said.

Picture perfect: The lovely couple are now adapting to life together in Australia very well

With December rolling around, the couple is looking forward to spending their first Christmas together. Aware of how a different visa verdict could have meant spending the holidays apart, Adam says that being able to enjoy Christmas together with your loved one is the best gift anyone could ask for.

“Since, Huong hasn’t really celebrated Christmas before, I think it will be really fun to take her around to my family and show her what an Aussie Christmas lunch is like,” Adam said.

“We also hope to go back and visit her family again soon. Vietnamese culture usually means that families are really close. They are so welcoming and I absolutely love it. It’ll be extra exciting because we are expecting our first child in April next year and we’ve been taking bets as to whether it’s a boy or a girl!”

“I am so grateful to Emma and I am really happy with how everything is. I wouldn’t change anything for the world,” he said.